Collecting device.



PATENTED AUG. 13, 1907.

A. SHEDLOGK. COLLECTING DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 5, 1903 6 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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PATENTED AUG. 13, 1907.

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No. 863,104. I PATENTED AUG. 13, 1907 A.SHEDLOGK.

COLLECTING DEVICE.

APPLIOATION FILED JAN. 5, 1903.

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.PATENTED AUG. 13, 1907,

A. SHEDLOGK. COLLECTING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN, 5, 1903.

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THE NoRms PETER: co.. w-zsumcnm, 0 cv No. 863,104. PATENTED AUG. V13, 1907. A. SHEDLOGK. COLLECTING DEVICE.

APPLIOATION FILED JAN. 5, 1903.

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COLLECTING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 5, 1903.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED SI-IEDLOOK, OF JERSEY OITY, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS,

TO INTERNATIONAL CIGAR MACHINERY COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORA- TION OF NEW JERSEY.

GOLLE GTING DEVICE.

Patented Aug. 13, 1907.

Application filed January 5, 1903. Serial No. 137,816.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED Snnnnocn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Jersey City, county of Hudson, and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Collecting Devices, fully described and represented in the following specification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same.

This invention relates to a machine for collecting cheroots and similar articles, such, for example, as cigars and cigarettes, and arranging them in an orderly manner ready for packing and shipment or storage.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a machine of this kind containing mechanism for feeding the cheroots or similar articles to be collected, mechanism for assembling the articles, so fed, in rows, and mechanism, controlled in its operation by the rows so assembled, for moving'each row, when completed, onward from the point at which it is assembled toward the point at which the several rows are to be collected, and preferably into a receiver adapted to contain a number of such rows of cheroots.

The improvements of the present invention have been designed particularly with reference to the collecting of cheroots and they will for this reason and also for convenience be described in detail as operating upon cheroots, but it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the collecting of cheroots, as the improvements of the present invention are also useful for the purpose of collecting other similar articles, such, for example, as cigars or cigarettes.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is an end elevation, partly in section, of a cheroot collecting ma chine embodying the present invention. .Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same, partly in section looking perpendicularly onto the inclined support for the assembled cheroots, the cheroot feeding mechanism of Fig. 1 being omitted. Fig. 3 is a side elevation looking toward the right of Figs. 1 and 2, a portion of the receiver in which the rows of cheroots are to be collected being omitted. Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line 4 of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a View similar to Fig. 4, illustrating the parts in a different position, that is to say, in the position occupied by them when a completed row of cheroots has been moved onward from assembling position to the collecting point or receiver. Fig. 6 is a detail illustrating devices for engagin and supporting the rearmost row of those moved into the receiver so as to prevent retrograde movement of the cheroots after they have been moved into such receiver. Fig. 7 is a similar view, these supporting devices, however, being shown as withdrawn in order to permit a row just completed to be moved onward into the receiver. Fig. 8 is a detail in plan view illustrating means whereby, upon the completion of a row of cheroots, the mechanism for mov ing such row onward into the receiver is set into operation. Fig. 9 is a section of the same taken on the line 9 of Fig. 8. Figs. 10 and 11 are end views of the same illustrating the parts in two positions to be hereinafter referred to. Figs. 12 and 13 are plan views illustrating the mechanism for assembling the cheroots in rows, Fig. 12 illustrating such mechanism in position behind a cheroot ready to move it forward into assembling position, while Fig. 13 illustrates such mechanism in the position it occupies after its movement in this direction is completed. Fig. 14 is a side elevation looking in the direction of the arrow 14 of Fig. 13. Fig. 15 is a plan view of the receiver, illustrating also a removable holder adapted to be introduced into the receiver and to engage a number of rows of cheroots so that the same may be bodily removed from such receiver for packing; and Fig. 16 is an end view of such holder withdrawn from the receiver and inclosing a number of rows of cheroots.

Referring to said drawings, and particularly to Figs. 1 and 3, the mechanism for feeding or supplying the cheroots to the mechanism for assembling them in rows, will first be described. This feeding mechanism consists of a conveyer 1 in the form of a sprocket chain having pockets 2 for the reception of the cheroots; said conveyer being mounted upon sprocket wheels 3 (only one of which is shown) driven from any suitable source of power for the delivery of the cheroots singly and at the proper intervals apart to a vertical chute 4 whence the cheroots are delivered singly to the mechanism for assembling them in rows. The cheroots are delivered sidewise by the conveyer 1 into the receiving end of the chute 4, but one of the side walls 5 of the chute 4 (see Fig. 3) is inclined and the lower end of the chute is contracted so that the cheroots though delivered sidewise into the receiving end of the chute are turned end- Wise when engaged by this inclined side wall 5 and delivered from the lower contracted end of the chute in vertical position, as shown in Fig. 3. The front wall 6 of the chute 4, that is to say, the wall which is furthest from the conveyer 1, is provided with a hinged upper portion 6 which is held normally closed by means of a spiing 7, connected thereto and also to the body of the chute, as illustrated in Fig. 1. The purpose of this construction is to prevent damage to the cheroots should their passage through the chute be arrested or interfered with, as, for example, by the breakage or improper positioning of a cheroot in the lower contracted portion of the chute. In case of such interference with the passage of the cheroots through the chute the receiving end thereof would become filled with the cheroots and if no means were provided for relieving the congestion at this end of the chute, the cheroots would become damaged. The upper portion 6 of the chute 4 is adapted, however, to yield outwardly and to entirely open the receiving end of the chute upon the exertion of a slight amount of pressure from inside the chute, such as would result from the collection of a number of cheroots in the receiving end of the chute. In order to adapt this hinged upper portion 6 of the chute to so yield readily under such slight pressure and to cause it to fall downwardly so as to entirely open the receiving end of the chute, the spring 7 is very light and connected to the hinged portion 6 off the center of its hinge, that is, a short distance above the same, as best shown in Fig. 3, so that should the upper or receiving end of the chute become choked or filled with cheroots the hinged portion 6 will be thrown open and fall downwardly so that the cheroots behind it and subsequentlyied to the chute by the conveyor 1 will fall out of the chute into a suitable receptacle (not shown). The hinged portion 6 of the chute will remain in this open position until the attendant has cleared the chute of the obstruction, when it will be again closed by him and the delivery of the cheroots from the conveyer 1 to the chute 4 will be resumed.

At the delivery end of the chute 4, a support 8 is provided, upon which the cheroots are finally depos ited singly and in vertical position, into the control of the mechanism, which will now be described, for assembling them in vertical rows each containing a predetermined number of cheroots, as, for example, ten. This assembling mechanism consists of a reciprocating arm or pusher 9 pivotally mounted at 10 in the frame of the machine and provided at its forward end with a nose or extension 11 adapted to pass through the delivery end of the chute 4 (the front and rear walls of the chute being cut away above the support 8 and in line with nose or extension 11) and to engage the cheroots singly as they are deposited on said support 8 and move then along said support, one after the other, in front of another pusher 12, which, as will hereinafter appear, moves each row, when completed, onward to the point at which the several rows are to be collected, which is preferably in a receiver 13. The reciprocating arm or pusher 9 is provided at its rear end with a rack 14 meshing with a bevel gear 15 formed upon a hub 16, fast to a sleeve 17, loosely mounted upon a shaft 18, said hub 16 being connected by a rod 19 to a crank arm 20 fixed to the power shaft 21 of the machine, so that upon each revolution of the said power shaft 21, the hub 16 and bevel pinion 15 are oscillated, and said bevel pinion, in turn, through rack 14, oscillates pusher 9 and causes its nose or extension 11 to be moved from the position in which it is shown in Fig. 12 inward through the delivery end of the chute 4 into the position in which it is shown in Fig. 13, and vice versa. Upon this inward movement of the nose or extension 11 it will, as shown in Figs. 12 and 13, engage the cheroot which is then upon the support 8 and move it onward along said support into line with the other cheroots already assembled by the pusher 9 in front of the pusher 12; each cheroot so moved onward by the pusher 9 engaging the cheroot or line of cheroots in front of it and moving them along the face of the pusher 12 a distance equal to the thickness of a cheroot.

The cheroots from chute 4 are not deposited thereby directly upon the support 8 but first upon a gate or support 22 located above the nose or extension 11 of pusher 9 and movable therewith into and out of the opening in the delivery end of the chute; such movement of the rest or support 22 being preferably obtained by securing it to or making it part of the pusher 9, as shown. The purpose of this movable gate or .support 22 is to periodically close the delivery end of the chute and prevent the delivery of a second cheroot on top of one already deposited on support 8 and being pushed onward by the pusher 9 into the line or row in front of pusher 12. For this purpose, the gate or support 22 is so located with reference to the nose or extension 11 of pusher 9 that as the latter moves into the opening in the delivery end of chute 4, the gate or support 22, moving with it, will close the lower end of chute 4 above nose or extension 11 and thus arrest the next cheroot passing down the chute, as illustrated by dotted lines in Fig. 14. The cheroot thus arrested will remain upon the rest or support 22 during the inward movement of the nose or extension 11 and until said nose or extension 11, upon its outward movement, has been withdrawn from chute 4, when the cheroot which has been arrested by the gate or support 22 will drop from the latter onto the support 8 in position for engagement by the nose or extension 11 upon its next movement inward, or, in other words, into the posi tion shown in Figs. 2 and 12.

Upon the withdrawal of the pusher 9 from the delivery end of chute 4, after pushing a cheroot into place in front of pusher 12 the cheroot last introduced into line might have a tendency to move or fall backward into the delivery end of the chute. To prevent this, a pair of fingers 23 is provided adapted to move into and out of position across the opening in the lower end of the chute 4 and against the cheroot last delivered by the cheroot pusher 9 in front of the row pusher 12. The fingers 23 are carried by an arm 24 having a hub 25 mounted on a stud 26, j ournaled in a bracket 27 in the machine frame and having fixed to its lower end a collar 28 having on its under side a projection 29 which is adapted to be engaged by projections 30, 31 upon the arm of pusher 9. When the pusher 9 is in its rearmost position, illustrated in Fig. 12, and is about to begin its inward movement so as to engage a cheroot and move it into line in front of the pusher 12, the fingers 23 will occupy the position shown in Fig. 12. Upon the completion of the inward movement of the pusher 9, however, the projection 30 upon the pusher 9 will engage the projection 29 upon the collar 28 and thereby turn said collar, stud 26 and hub 25, upon the bracket 27, and thus rock the arm 24 inwardly toward the chute 4 and bring. its fingers 23 into engagement with the cheroot which has just been moved forward by the pusher 9 and deposited in the line in front of pusher 12. The fingers 23 will remain in this supporting position until the rearward or outward movement of pusher 9 is completed when, as shown in Fig. 12, the projection 31 on said pusher 9 will engage with the projection 29 on collar 28, thereby rocking the arm 24 in the opposite direction and withdrawing the fingers 23 from engagement with said cheroot. The fingers 23 will remain in this latter position until the pusher 9 has completed another inward movement, when, by the engagement of the projection 30 on pusher 9 with the projection 29 on collar 28, the fingers 23 will again be moved inward into position to engage the cheroot which has just been moved by the pusher 9 into line in front of the pusher 12. While the pusher 9 is being moved inward or outward and while the projections 30, 31 thereon are out of engagement with the projection 29 on collar 28, the arm 24 and fingers 23 are retained in the position to which they have been moved by the projection 30 or 31, as the case may be, by frictional engagement of the hub 25 of arm 24 with the bracket 27, such frictional engagement being produced by the pressure of a spring 32 resting upon the hub 25 and above which is provided a nut 33 on stud 26, whereby the pressure of said spring upon said hub may be regulated.

The pusher 12 is provided on its front face with an upper set and a lower set of light springs 34, 35 adapted to yield to permit the passage past them of the cheroots as assembled by pusher 12; the springs of each set being spaced apart so as to provide between them pockets for the reception of the cheroots whereby movement of the cheroots endwise of the line or row is prevented. The two sets of springs 34, 35 are, as will be observed, so located one above the other, that they will engage the cheroots near their opposite ends and thus maintain each cheroot in proper vertical position in the row. To prevent the row or line of cheroots from falling forward, that is, away from pusher 12 and toward receiver 1.3, while the row or line is being assembled, the support 8 and pusher 1.2 are, as shown in Fig. 3, preferably inclined so that the row or line of cheroots will occupy an inclined position leaning against the pusher 12. Such a movement of the row or line, or any other movement thereof away from pusher 12, is further guarded against by the provision of a pair of movable upper and lower supporting members 36, 37 which will presently be described, and which, with pusher 12, form in effect, a channel or guideway for the cheroots while they are being assembled in line by pusher 9. The principal function of these supporting members 36, 37 is, as will hereinafter more fully appear, to engage each row of cheroots delivered into receiver 13 and thus retain it, as well as the rows in advance of it, in said receiver. At the outer end of this channel or guideway there is provided a spring finger 38 adapted to be engaged by the leading cheroot in the row or line, and, when the row or line is completed, to be moved outwardly thereby and then through connections presently to be described, cause the pusher 12 to move forward and push the completed row of cheroots from the support 8 into the receiver 13.

The pusher 12 is supported in position for engagement with the rear side of the row 01' line by a pair of arms 39 pivoted to the pusher 12 near its ends and secured to a shaft 40 journaled in the machine frame and encircled by a spring 41 secured to the shaft 40 and to the machine frame and which tends through said shaft and arms 39 to hold the pusher 12 in its rearmost position (shown in Fig. 4) and to return it to that position after each pushing movement or movement toward receiver 13. While the line or row of cheroots is being assembled, the pusher 12 remains in this rear position, but as soon as the row of cheroots is completed the pusher 12 is moved forward, so as to push the row of cheroots before it into receptacle 13, by a cam disk 42, through connections which will now be described, these connections, as will hereinafter appear, being set into operation by the row when it is completed through spring finger 38 before referred to.

The pusher 12 is provided with a rearward extension 43 in the outer end of which is pivoted one end of a curved arm 44, the opposite end of which is pivoted to a stud 45 secured to the machine frame. Intermediate its ends the curved arm 44 has pivoted to it, at 46, the lower end of a curved arm 47, the upper end of which is pivoted to a link 48 loosely mounted on a rock shaft 49 journaled in the machine frame. The arm 47 is also provided at its upper end, beneath its pivotal connection with link 48, with a bowl 50 resting upon the periphery of cam disk 42 (before referred to) which has four cam surfaces, 51, 52, 53, 54, which, as the cam disk 42 is turned, are adapted to successively engage bowl 50 and move it and the arm 47 upward and forward from the position shown in Fig. 4 to and somc what beyond that shown in Fig. 5. As the arm 47 is thus moved upward it will, through its pivotal connections, at 46, with arm 44, rock said arm 44 forward on its stud 45, and, as the extension 43 of pusher 12 is pivotally connected to the upper end of arm 44, said pusher will be moved by said arm 44 from the position shown in Fig. 4 to and slightly beyond that shown in Fig. 5, and thus move the row of cheroots in front of it onward into receiver 13. The cam 42 for producing this movement of arm 47 and pusher 12 is mounted loosely upon the sleeve 17, which is in turn loosely mounted upon the shaft'18, the oscillating bevel gear 15 for operating pusher 9 being fixed to said sleeve, as before described, so that during the oscillations of said gear 15 to actuate pusher 9, the cam 42 remains stationary and therefore does not produce any movement of the arm 47 and pusher 12, until a row or line of cheroots is completed when, through connections controlled and actuated by the completed row or line through spring finger 38, before referred to, the cam 42 is connected to the sleeve 17 and bevel gear 15 and given a quarter turn in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 4. During this quarter turn of cam 42 the arm 47 and pusher 12 are moved from the positions shown in Fig.

4 to and somewhat beyond those shown in Fig. 5, and

then back to the positions shown in Fig. 4; the cam 42, however, remaining in the position to which it is thus moved.

The connections just referred to whereby the cam 42 is connected to the sleeve 17 and bevel gear 15 so as to be given a quarter turn, consist of a latch 55 pivot-ally mounted upon a crank arm 56 secured to and moving with sleeve 17 and having a projection 57, which rests and rides back and forth upon an arc shaped support 58 pivoted in the machine frame above the shaft 18. This support 58 is adapted to be rocked upwardly upon its pivotal connection with the frame and when so rocked, by reason of its engagement with projection 57 of latch 55, to move said latch upwardly so that the projection 57 will engage with that one of a series of plates or lugs 60, 61, 62, 63 which happens to be in position, and when so engaged connect the cam 42 with bevel gear 15 and sleeve 17 so that it will make a quarter turn therewith in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 4. The support 58 for latch 55 is thus rocked upwardly so as to engage the projection 57 of latch 55 with one of the lugs or plates 60, 61, 62, 63 by the row of cheroots when completed upon the support 8, and for this purpose said support 58 is provided with an arm 64 preferably provided at its outer end with the spring linger 38 before 5 referred to and which is in line with support 8 so as to be engaged by the leading cheroot in the line or row assembled thereon by pusher 9 and when the row is completed to be moved outwardly thereby, thereby moving arm 64 outwardly and swinging the support 58 10 upwardly on its pivots with the result that said curved support will lift the latch 55 from the position illustrated in Fig. 11 to that illustrated in Fig. 10 so that upon the movement of the gear 15 and sleeve 17 in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 11 said latch l5 (which, as before stated, is fixed to the sleeve 17) will give the cam disk 42 a quarter turn in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 4. The row of cheroots when moved forward by pusher 12 is disengaged from finger 38 when the row leaves support 8, but the finger 20 38 will be held in its outward position by the arm 43 of the pusher 12 until the pusher 12 is retracted when the finger 38 will resume its normal position and the support 58 will drop and engage another projection 59 on the latch 55 and move the projection 57 of said latch out of engagement with the cam plate or lug 60, as shown in Fig. 11, when a quarter turn of the cam disk 42 will have been secured. It is to be noted that while the gear 15 is being moved in this direction the pusher 9 is being moved thereby outwardly from the position shown in Fig. 1.3 to that shown in Figs. 2 and 12 so that no cheroot is being introduced by pusher 9 into line in front of the pusher 12. During the first half of the quarter turn of cam disk 42 the pusher 12 will be moved thereby to the limit of its forward or pushing movement. The bowl 50 at the end of this movement of pusher 12 rests upon the high part ofca-m 51 a little in advance of the position in which it is shown in Fig. 5. As the quarter turn of cam disk 42 is completed, the bowl 50 will ride down the opposite side of cam 51 and during this movement of bowl 50 the spring 41 on shaft 40 will, through the arms 39, return the pusher 12 to its rearmost position (Fig. 4) and at the same time re turn link 48, and arms 44, 47 to their normal positions '(Fig. 4). During this return movement of the pusher 12 and the other parts referred to, the cam disk 42 remains in the position to which it was moved by sleeve 17 and latch 55, with the next lug or plate (61) in position for engagement by latch 55 upon the completion of the next line of cheroots in front of pusher 12 and 50 with the next cam (52) in position for engaging bowl 50. During this return movement of pusher 12, the bevel gear 15 is moved by rod 19 and crank arm 20 in the opposite direction to that indicated by the arrow in Fig. 9 and the pusher 9 is moved by gear 15 inwardly 55 so that, as the pusher 12 reaches its rearmost position, the pusher 9 begins the assembling of a new line or row of cheroots in front of it.

As the pusher 12 is moved forward to push a completed line into the receiver 13, the supporting members 36, 37, before referred to, between the row to be pushed forward and the receiver 13 must, of course, be moved out of the way, and must, upon the rearward movement of pusher 12, be again moved into position to engage and support the row of cheroots just deposited in the receiver 13 by pusher 12. These movements of the supporting members 36, 37 are accomplished in the following manner: The upper member 36 (see Figs. 6 and 7) is provided with a pair of rearwardly extending arms 65 fixed to the shaft 49 which is journaled in bearings in the machine frame so as to rock therein. This rock shaft 49 has fixed to it a crank arm 66, the outer end of which is pivoted to the upper end of a link 67 having a bowl 68 riding upon the periphery of cam disk 42 (in advance of bowl 50 before referred to) and pivoted at its lower end to one end of an arm 69 bent so as to pass around or across the cam disk 42. The other end of the arm 69 is fixed to shaft 18 (which is adapted to be rocked in its bearings in the machine frame) and is provided with an extension or arm 70 secured at its outer end to the lower supporting member 37. The rock shaft 18 has also fixed to it near its other end a second arm 71, the outer end of which is secured to supporting member 37. By reason of this construction, as the cam disk 42 is given a quarter turn by sleeve 17, as before described, the bowl 68 will be engaged by one of the cam surfaces on cam disk 42 (say, the cam surface 51). As the cam disk 42 turns the link 67 will be moved upwardly thereby rocking shaft 49 and through the arms 65 moving the upper supporting member 36 to the position shown in Fig. 7. At the same time the link 67, pulling upon the arm 69, will rock shaft 18 and thus move the arm or extension 70 thereof, the arm 71 and the lower supporting member 37 downwardly to the position shown in Fig. 7. As the quarter turn of cam disk 42 is completed the bowl 68 will ride down the cam surface 51 and the supporting members be again returned to supporting position by a spring 72 fixed to shaft 49 and to the machine frame; the link 67 and arms 69, 70, 71 being also returned to their normal positions (Fig. 6.) This movement of the shaft 49 and the other parts referred to is limited by an adjustable stop 73 fixed to the shaft 49 and adapted to engage a tie rod 74 mounted in the machine frame. The bowl 68 which thus controls the opening and closing movements of supporting members 36, 37 is arranged in advance of the bowl 50 controlling the to and fro movements of pusher 1.2 so that said supporting members are thrown open or out of supporting position as the pusher 12 advances and are closed or returned to supporting position in advance of the rearward movement of pusher 12 so as to engage the row of cheroots deposited in receiver 13 by pusher 12 before the latter moves away from the row.

The upper supporting member is preferably provided with a ledge 75 extending rearwardly therefrom so as to lie above the row of cheroots as assembled on support 8.

The receiver 13, into which the rows of cheroots are delivered by pusher 12, is, like the support 8, arranged preferably in an inclined position, and contains a presser 76 adapted to engage the rows of cheroots and yieldingly hold them closely assembled together; this presser 76 consisting of a plate of substantially the width of the receiver, pivotally mounted, by arms 77 and a shaft 78, on a carriage 79 resting upon the bottom of the receiver 13 and provided with wheels 80 whereby it may readily move rearwardly as rows of cheroots are added to the receiver by pusher 12. The presser 76 is held yieldingly in the inclined position shown in Figs. 4 and 5, so as to engage the cheroots about mid- Way of their length, by a spring 81 coiled about shaft 78 and connected at one end to one of the arms '77 with its other end resting upon carriage 79.

With a receptacle such as that described, the several rows are closely assembled together and the individual cheroots held in proper alinement so that arrangement or rearrangement of the cheroots preliminary to packing is rendered unnecessary. The cheroots thus collected in receiver 13 may be removed therefrom for packing in any suitable way, but I prefer to use for the purpose a holder such as that illustrated in Figs. 15 and 16. This holder consists of a rectangular frame 82 having a length suflicient to take in ten rows of cheroots and a width equal to a row of cheroots so that it may be introduced into the receiver 13 so as to inclose the ten rows of cheroots and then removed from the receiver, taking with it the cheroots thus inclosed by it. The frame 82 is provided with a hinged rear end in two parts 83, 84-, each hinged to a side of the frame 82, and one provided with a slot 85 and the other with a handle 86 adapted to enter said slot and thus lock the two parts together as shown. When the frame 82 is introduced into the receiver so as to inclose the ten rows of cheroots, the two parts 83, 84, are brought together and interlocked. As they are thus interlocked the sides of the frame 82 are drawn together slightly (see Fig. 15 so as to tightly hold the cheroots between them. The holder, with its cheroots, is then removed from the receiver 13 (see Fig. 16) and the cheroots delivered therefrom into the receptacle into which they are to be finally packaged. The holder is preferably provided with lugs or stops 87 adapted to rest upon the side walls of receiver 13 so as to properly position and limit the downward movement of the holder in the receiver.

What I claim is l. The combination of a suitable support, mechanism for assembling cheroots or like articles on end in rows'thereon. mechanism controlled in its operation by the rows thus assembled for pushing each row onward along said support when completed, and a suitable receiver upwardly inclined from the support into which the rows are deposited when thus pushed onward, said receiver containing a pressing device yieldingly mounted on a sliding .carriage for yieldingly engaging and resisting the onward movement of the rows, substantially as described.

:2. The combination of a suitable support, mechanism for assembling cheroots or like articles on end in rows thereon, mechanism, controlled in its operation by the rows thus assembled, for pushing each row onward along said support when completed, and supporting means adapted to be brought into engagement with the rear side of the row pushed forward and to be moved from that position when the next row is completed and pushed forward, substantially as described.

3. The combination of a suitable support, mechanism for assembling cheroots or like articles on end in rows thereon, mechanism controlled in its operation by the rows thus assembled for pushing each row onward along said support when completed, a suitable substantially horizontal receiver into which the rows are deposited when thus pushed onward. and supporting means adapted to be brought into engagement with the rear side of the row pushed forward and to be moved from that position when the next row is completed and pushed forward, substantially as described.

-i. The combination of a suitable support, mechanism for assembling cheroots or like articles on end in rows there on, mechanism controlled in its operation by the rows thus assembled for pushing each row onward along said support when completed, a suitable receiver inclined to the horizontal into which the rows are deposited when thus pushed onward, and supporting means adapted to be brought into engagement with the rear side of the row pushed forward and to be moved from that position when the next row is completed and pushed forward, substan tially as described.

The combination of a suitable support, mechanism for assembling cheroots or like articles on end in rows thereon, mechanism controlled in its operation by the rows thus assembled, for pushing each row onward along said support when completed, and two supporting members movable toward each other into engagement with the rear side of the row pushed forward and from each other when the next row is completed and pushed forward, substantially as described.

6. The combination of a suitable support, mechanism for assembling cheroots or like articles on end in rows thereon, mechanism controlled in its operation by the rows thus assembled for pushing each row onward along said support when completed, a suitable receiver into which the rows are deposited when thus pushed onward, and two supporting members movable toward each other into engagement with the rear side of the row pushed forward and from each other when the next row is completed and pushed forward, substantially as described.

7. The combination of a suitable support, mechanism for assembling cheroots or like articles on end in rows thereon, mechanism controlled in its operation by the rows thus assembled for pushing each row onward along said support when completed, a suitable receiver inclined to the horizontal into which the rows are deposited when thus pushed onward, and two supporting members movable toward each other into engagement with the rear side of the row pushed forward and from each other when the next row is completed and pushed forward, substantially as described.

8. The combination of a suitable support, mechanism for assembling cheroots or like articles on end in rows there on, mechanism, controlled in its operation by the rows thus assembled, for pushing each row onward along said support when completed, and two pivotally mounted supporting members movable toward each other into engagement with the rear side of the row pushed forward and from each other when the next row is completed and pushed forward, substantially as described.

9. The combination of a suitable support, mechanism for assembling cheroots or like articles on end in rows thereon, mechanism controlled in its operation by the rows thus assembled for pushing each row onward along said support when completed, a suitable substantially horizontal receiver into which the rows are deposited when thus pushed onward, and two pivotally mounted supporting members movable toward each other into engagement with the rear side of the row pushed forward and from each other when the next row is completed and pushed forward, substantially as described.

10. The combination of a suitable support, mechanism for assembling cheroots or like articles on end in rows thereon, mechanism controlled in its operation by the rows thus assembled for pushing each row onward along said support when completed, a suitable receiver inclined to the horizontal into which the rows are deposited when thus pushed onward, and two pivotally mounted supporting members movable toward each other into engagement with the rear side of the row pushed forward and from each other when the next row is completed and pushed forward, substantially as described.

11. The combination of mechanism for assembling cheroots or like articles in rows, and mechanism for supplying the articles thereto singly and in regular order, comprising a chute and means for feeding the articles thereto, said chute having a portion of its wall at its receiving end yielding and outwardly movable, substantially as described.

12. The combination of a suitable support, mechanism for assembling cheroots or like articles on end in rows thereon, and mechanism for supplying the articles thereto singly and in regular order, comprising a chute and means for feeding the articles thereto, said chute having a portion of its wall at its receiving end yielding and outwardly movable, substantially as described.

13:3. The combination of mechanism for assembling cheroots or like articles in rows, and mechanism for supplying the articles thereto singly and in regular order, comprising a chute and means for feeding the articles thereto, said chute having a hinged, spring-pressed outwardly yielding portion at its receiving end, substantially as described.

14. The combination of a suitable support, mechanism for assembling cheroots or like articles on end in rows thereon, and mechanism for supplying the articles thereto singly and in regular order, comprising a chute and means for feeding the articles thereto, said chute having a hinged, spring-pressed outwardly yielding portion at its receiving end, substantially as described.

15. The combination of a suitable support, mechanism for assembling cheroots or like articles in rows, thereon, and supporting means adapted to be brought into engagement with each article when deposited in the row by the assembling mechanism and to be moved from that position to permit the passage of the next cheroot, substantially as described.

16. The combination of a suitable support, mechanism for assembling cheroots or like articles on end in rows thereon, and supporting means adapted to be brought into engagement with each article when deposited in the row by the assembling mechanism and to be moved from that position to permit the passage of the next cheroot, substantially as described.

17. The combination of a suitable support, mechanism for assembling cheroots or like articles in rows, thereon,

and a pivoted support adapted to be swung into engage ment with each article when deposited in the row by the assembling mechanism and to be swung from that position to permit the passage of the next cheroot, substantially as described.

18. The combination of a suitable support, mechanism for assembling cheroots or like articles on end in rows thereon, and a pivoted support adapted to be swung into engagement with each article when deposited in the row by the assembling mechanism and to be swung from that position to permit the passage of the next cheroot, substantially as described.

1!). The combination of a suitable support, a pivotally mounted reciprocating pusher for assembling cheroots or like articles in rows thereon, and a support controlled by said pusher and movable into and out of supporting position so as to engage successively each article deposited in the row, substantially as described.

20. The combination of a suitable support, a pivotally mounted reciprocating pusher for assembling cheroots or like articles in rows thereon, and a pivotally mounted support controlled by said pusher and movable into and out of supporting position so as to engage successively each article deposited in the row, substantially as described.

21. The combination of a suitable support, mechanism for assembling cheroots or like articles in rows thereon, and a reciprocating pusher for pushing each row onward when completed, said pusher being provided on its front face with spring fingers for engaging and supporting the articles, substantially as described.

2:). A device for removing cheroots or like articles from a receptacle, consisting of a rectangular frame adapted to be introduced into the receptacle and to inclose a number of rows of the articles, said device having a hinged rear end provided with locking means, substantially as described.

23. A device for removing cheroots or like articles from a receptacle, consisting of a rectangular frame adapted to be introduced into the receptacle and to inclose a number of rows of the articles, said device having a hinged rear end in two parts provided with locking means, substan tially as described.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ALFRED SIIEDLOCK. Witnesses jno. H. SNYDER, J. E. Sennnmnn. 

